ISAIAH 48:10 – Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.”

THEME OF THE DAY:  THE FURNACE OF AFFLICTION.  Every child of God will go to the place identified in today’s scripture – God’s furnace of affliction. Time there is painful, seems to last forever, and necessary, but God does His greatest work in the furnace.  Job knew of this place and the value of him being there despite the suffering – But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold (Job 23:10).  The Apostle Paul felt the heat of the furnace time and time again summarizing it in the opening verses of his second letter to the Corinthians – For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again (2 Corinthians 1:8-10).

Trips to the furnace of affliction are not God punishing us or Him showing displeasure.  It is an affirmation of His love – My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights (Proverbs 3:11-12).  While in the furnace, God does amazing work in our hearts and lives.  Here are three . . .

First, the white-hot purging afflictions in the furnace wean us from the world.  Suffering has a way of lessening our affections on the things of the world.  And as Christians, we know the only place of relief in suffering is the God of all comfort.  In Psalm 73, Asaph begins with being in the furnace of affliction (Psalm 73:1-13). He suffers envy of the wicked, the prosperity of the wicked, and the perceived contentment in the wicked.  But then, he is awakened and discovers a key lesson in the furnace – only God satisfies – Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you (Psalm 73:25).

A second good work God does in us while in the furnace of affliction is conforming us into the image of the Lord Jesus.  What does fire do? It burns away dross.  It purifies. And that is what suffering does.  It does a cleansing work of removing pride, selfishness, and self-righteousness – Everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean (Numbers 31:23a). Charles Spurgeon said of this work, “It is a law of nature, it is a law of grace, that everything that can abide the fire, everything that is precious must be tried.”

We also learn the greatest lesson while in the furnace of affliction, humble submission to God’s will and purposes.  There is no greater example than the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane – Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:38-39).

Yes, trips to the furnace of affliction hurt, but the grace that saved us is also the grace that sustains us in His furnace as He does great work in our hearts and lives.

PRAYER: “Father, make me submissive when I need a trip into the furnace of affliction to refine my character.”

QUOTE: “Though the pain of purging through suffering is real, keep looking more to the purposes than the pain.”

In the affection of Christ Jesus,

Pastor Jim